CANCELLED RYANAIR FLIGHTS: Boss Michael O’Leary admits ‘We made a mess’

RYANAIR is under growing pressure to release details of all the flights it intends to cancel from consumer rights group Which? and thousands of disgruntled travellers.

On Friday the airline announced it would be cancelling between 40 to 50 flights every day for the next six weeks because it had “messed up” the planning of pilots’ holidays.

Ryanair boss Michael O’Leary admitted in a press conference today (September 18) that the situation was a “mess” but said that anyone who is “entitled to compensation will receive compensation.”

It’s estimated at up to 9,000 people a day and 285,000 journeys are likely to be hit by affected.

“We made a mess and Ryanair holds our hands up when we make a mess.

“I’d like to apologise and say sorry for the short notice due to not having stand by crews.

“Ryanair is not short of pilots – we were able to fully crew our peak summer schedule.”

In response to calls to publish a full list of flights that will be cancelled, he said “we delayed publishing the full list to focus on our busiest routes to ensure passengers on these flights were prioritised.”

O’Leary has however confirmed that all customers whose flights are disrupted before the end of October will receive an email by tonight.

The airline announced it would be cancelling between 40 to 50 flights every day for the next six weeks because it had “messed up” the planning of pilots’ holidays.

Earlier Rival airline Norwegian Air Shuttle said it has recruited more than 140 pilots from Ryanair in 2017.

“Pilot recruitment is also underway for more pilots for our new Dublin base opening later this year,” they added.

The cancellations could affect hundreds of thousands of passengers, who reportedly will be offered alternative flights or refunds.

EU compensation rules for cancelled flights are:

• Passengers are entitled to assistance and compensation, if the disruption was within an airline’s control.
• Airlines have to offer full refunds, paid within seven days, or re-bookings for a flight cancelled at short notice.
• In addition, passengers can also claim compensation.
• Cancellation amounts are: €250 euros (£218) for short-haul, €440 euros (£384) for medium-haul and €600 euros (£523) for long-haul.
• Passengers who reach their destination more than three hours late can be compensated from €200 to €600, depending on the length of flights and delay.

For up to date details on cancellations be sure to visit our Euro Weekly News Facebook page.